Don't Look Back – Chapter 32
More Unexpected News
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Month LaterChihiro's Pregnancy – 6 Months
((Amaya's POV))
Oh please tell me I'm wrong.
This is just… great. This was the last thing that needed to happen.
I'm happy, overjoyed to be exact, but this isn't a good thing. We're in the middle of a temporary peace, and I'm PREGNANT! Chihiro's due in three months tops, and I'm going to be with her in a few months. This is just…
Oh gods I'm scared.
I knew that I couldn't keep it a secret, but I was afraid to tell anyone. I didn't want to tell Perun and judge his reaction all by myself; I wanted to tell everyone at once. And I got my chance that night at dinner.
"Amaya… are you all right?" Perun asked, "You're hardly eaten anything."
I shook my head. "I have something to say." I said quietly, but all movement at the table stopped. I took a deep breath and stood up, ready to make my announcement. "Chihiro is due in a few months, and I must say that I'll be right behind her."
Eve blinked. "You're not making any sense. You're not due-" Her eyes widened and she grinned, "Amaya…?"
I smiled despite my nerves. "Yes… I'm pregnant."
Everyone reacted differently just like I knew they would. Felix and Basir congratulated me with a smile, and Rin did the same. Haku punched his little brother's arm with a laugh and gave us both his congratulations. Chihiro gave me a hug, and Eve was grinning from ear to ear. Kentoku had a deer in the headlights look, making Eve laugh. I couldn't blame him. He was going to be a grandfather to multiple grandchildren in less than a year. I bet he feels a little old.
But the look in Perun's eyes was better than all of their reactions put together. He looked up at me, not even saying a word. His navy blue eyes were alight with the utmost joy and happiness, and a bit of shock. It vanished quickly and was replaced with the look of hearing the best news ever. Which in his case, this was the best news.
He took my hand and kissed it gently, and pulled me down into his lap. I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder, facing the table. He rested his chin just above my collarbone and smiled at me, his eyes still alight with love and happiness. "Amaya…" He said quietly… "How long?"
"Just a month, but I know I'm late." I said softly.
He smiled gently, and kissed my neck. "Thank you Amaya."
I furrowed my brow. "For what?"
"For making me the most happiest man on this planet… and turning my life upside down."
I couldn't help but laugh. Normally I would have been mad, but I just couldn't be. I had to hand it to him; he was taking this pretty well. We ate the rest of the meal among high-strung chatter, mainly about how Ketnoku still looked like he was the one who was going to be the father. Perun didn't let me out of his hold for the rest of the evening, which was just fine with me. No one commented on it, and I was silent for the rest of the meal. I still didn't have much of an appetite, and I guess Perun didn't either.
Everyone was still eating when we left, and none of them seemed to notice we left. Perun jumped into bed while I washed my face. I got dressed and crawled in next to him. He draped an arm over me and pulled me close to his chest. He tilted my head to look up at him and he kissed me soundly. I caressed his cheek, and he smiled against my lips. I pulled away and turned over. Perun made a sound of disappointment, but it turned into a chuckle when I pressed my back against his chest, my body completely molding into his.
"I love you Amaya." He whispered huskily in my ear.
"I love you too Perun… but you're not getting anything tonight." I told him, slapping the arm that had embraced my waist.
He scoffed, "I didn't say anything about that!" He cried softly.
I rolled my eyes, "Oh but you were thinking it."
He paused. "I'm not allowed to?" He asked. I couldn't help but laugh at his tone. I got up and he rolled onto his back in confusion. I straddled his waist and placed my hands on his chest, which made him grin. "Now this is more like it…" He said, placing his hands on my hips.
I threw my head back and laughed. "I'm all ready pregnant Perun, what's the use?"
"We have to have a reason?" He asked, running a finger down my exposed neck and down to my collarbone, sending shivers down my spine.
I looked down at him and smirked. "Good point."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
((Rin's POV))
Kentoku went outside after dinner, and he told no one why. My curiosity was stirred, and I followed him out. I found him sitting in the grass close to the cliff where he brought me to face with Mitsuko. I walked up behind him and sat down next to him in the grass. The night sky was an endless expanse of black with the occasional bright star that created a beautiful sea of light.
"Is something wrong?" I asked softly, looking at him curiously.
"Just remembering." He replied gently, not once turning his gaze to look at me. Instead he kept it fastened on the stars.
"Remembering what?"
"What life was like before the first war. When everyone… all of my friends were alive."
"You mean Diego and… um…"
"Izumi?" Kentoku said, a faint smile crossing his lips, "Yes, them."
I paused, looking back up at the sky. "What were they really like? Who were they to you?"
He smiled sadly, but he answered my question. "Diego may be a hot head, but he's the most loyal friend anyone would ever dream of having. He was young, only 150. He could have been my son, but he was the little brother that I had. Eve's an amazing sister… but she's just not a brother. I'm told it's a guy thing, or at least that's what Perun says all the time.
"Izumi was a level headed woman, but she lost her temper better than Diego did at times. She loved to make us all laugh, and always managed to conspire with Eve to get the rest of us to do something out of the ordinary, such as sing."
"What element was Diego?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my knees.
Kentoku laughed, "Fire, what else?"
I gasped, "You guys could have gotten rid of Kallisto the first time!"
He nodded sadly, "We could have. We didn't think it would work, so we tried just attacking her all at once. It didn't work, and resulted in Izumi's death."
"Izumi was earth, correct?"
"Indeed she was, very good." He replied, looking back up at the sky. "She was a great friend to me, a sister to Eve, and a lover to Diego."
My heart fell. "Oh no…"
He looked at me, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Diego was devastated. After that, he refused to cooperate with us. He was all bent on avenging Izumi. One night… he ran. There were reports from Eve about it. He had stormed the hideout and was killed on sight. I never even said goodbye."
I looked away from him, tears threatening to spill over. "Have you tried this place out with them?"
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
"You showed me Mitsuko here." I said, turning back to face him. "I got to talk with her even though she was dead. Perhaps you could talk to Izumi or Diego."
His eyes lit up, and he looked at the grass. I knew he was thinking hard about them, but no memory of them showed up. He sighed in frustration. "It's not working."
A slow smile spread across my face. "I asked Yubaba about this place, and it does exactly what we think it does. It shows you the memories of those long past, and let's you talk with them one last time. But she said that if they don't appear here… they're not dead."
"WHAT?" Kentoku cried, jumping up, "Please say that this is some kind of sick joke!"
I stood up, shaking my head, "It's not a joke, and it's the truth."
He grinned, and picked me up under the arms and spun me around and around. I cried for him to put me down, but he just laughed. When he did set me down, his eyes were alight like they were in Eve's memory of the old group singing; they were so full of happiness and life… full of hope. I prayed that his friends were alive, because I loved how his eyes looked right at that moment.
"They're alive…" Kentoku breathed.
I frowned, "Don't get your hopes up. We don't even know if this place is all that reliable. And even if they aren't, we still have no idea what condition they're in or even where they are."
The light in his eyes died slowly. "You're right." He said softly.
My heart plunged, no! I didn't want to do this! What have I done? He seemed to see the look on my face and his eyes filled with worry. "Rin, is there something wrong?" But before I could even open my mouth, he sighed and pulled me close. "I'm fine Rin, honestly. You haven't done a thing to make me upset. I should have thought a little bit more."
"That's the problem," I whispered, "I wanted you to be happy…"
Kentoku sighed and kissed the top of my head, "Just the fact that they might not be dead right now makes me happy. And that you're here with me to share it."
-------------------------------------
A/N: Heh, I haven't totally ignored Ninja and the Demon. This just happened to be the one that I updated first... eheheh. Don't hurt me. And I'm so sorry that this was so short. It was kind of like... an update now and a short chapter... or a long chapter and a delayed update. Normally I would have tried to incorperate some of the ideas from the next chapter into this one, but I was too lazy. Not to mention I like... rewrote half of the plan so now I can't remember where I put my real notes. O.o Go figure.
SO! You'll get a nice and long chapter next time, promise! XD
-LiddaL MushRo0m-
Princess of the Wind
Yuki9283
annoying-little-girl
XxLil-AngelxX
StrugglingArtist
mistress of mist
Mushrambolover
Lillix Vail
Koi hikari
bluekitsune251
Priestess Kohana
Akina1992
Dying of Reality
Whoot whoot! Thanks for reading this even though I'm like going through... hectic phase number 2 of my life right now. XD I'll update before the end of the month... promise! Either that or the first week of September... O.o
-Vincent's Angel of Chaos-
P.S. I couldn't help but make Amaya pregnant. ((lol))